NOTE1: The events of this chapter are happening in the past. To be more precise, between chapters 24 and 25.
NOTE2: I know this chapter is not up to expectations. I kept re-writing parts of it quite a lot. And, instead of falling victim to writer's block, I decided to publish what I have so far as the first part of Illium Freedom. The next part should conclude it, but I warn you that it will be released between other chapters that are taking the plot forward. I apologize for this major inconvenience. It's the best deal I can offer you. I hope you will find this chapter somewhat entertaining.
NOTE3: Find a map related to this chapter's action scenes at the following link (remove spaces): imgur vqTlP84
Chapter 27: Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM I
"If Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM and Operation PAYBACK was not a wake up call for the galaxy – for the Asari Matriarchy and the Salarian Dalatrass leadership – I don't know what was. When the Terminus – Collector alliance attacked in the Traverse? No, of course not. Maybe the Reaper invasion? That ought to open their eyes. But what am I saying? They denied even that, thinking they still had an ace up their sleeve, as a Human saying goes around. They did not realize it the first time, they did not realize it the second time around, neither did they realize it when the sky came crashing down. Tevos and the Armali Council, or what is left of it today, are still in denial of reality. Their world views were shattered and they are clinging on to the past. A coping mechanism that did them no favor."
(Atelas Razea, former Admiral of Unified Fleet Command, General of the Galactic Foreign Legion, current military dictator of the United Asari Republics, Interbellum: Politics of the Galaxy)
"Illium saw the Helljumpers introduced to the galaxy. The insertion of troops from orbit into a theater of operations on a large scale in a very short timeframe opened whole new scenarios the Citadel had to effectively counter somehow. The Hierarchy had its rocketeer troops and they extended upon them to enable direct limited suborbital insertion. The Asari Unified Fleet Command started to work on an orbital insertion pod for their elite commandos. The pod was designed to put the commando in atmosphere, but not to survive contact with the soil. The user had to jump out of the pod and perform a biotic airdrop from a certain height. […]
If Illium was not it, I am sure the most exemplary large scale airborne operation that cemented this concept in the minds of every non-Human military leader was at Nova America, when the 1st Legionary Division was dropped in. The resounding strategic victory they gained surprised even Primarch Fedorian and Fleet Admiral Coronati, who had been against the idea and preferred more traditional strategies. […]
It is safe to say that orbital paratroopers, or Helljumpers as they are called in the Alliance military, were instrumental in the Reaper War where they have turned the tide of battles. Had it not been for them, we might very well have lost the war, or… survive it at significantly greater costs. I cannot think of a better name for them.
(Planus Photius, historian and director of Palaven Military History Museum, for the documentary Airborne – From Crete to Nova America: a comprehensive overview on the Alliance's paratrooper and airmobile formations prior to the Reaper War)
Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T – 3H 0M
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
Drifting in space, SSV Normandy
Normandy was drifting in space. Drifting might not be the right word. The ship shut down its engines to minimize the risk of detection and is simply sailing under her inertia, using Illium's gravity well to make loops around her at a distance of some 400,000 kilometers. The ship was waiting for orders while the sensors kept a vigilant eye on the ships present. She and three other stealth warships. There were four Alliance ships present: the Normandy, Blackreach, Northwind and Wraith.
Shepard watched the distant planet and thought of home. He'd seen Reach like this from Reach Station Gamma – a Marine Corps and Navy anchorage from where troops are loaded into ships for long journeys or ships dock for quick refits and resupply. Or Earth from the surface of Luna. The Corps has training programs for low gravity environments on Earth's moon. Luna is one of the first and most developed artificial habitat colonies. Its surface sports multiple covered structures for people, mining outposts, military shooting ranges and training facilities. The sites of the lunar missions have been transformed into museums and, unfortunately, are not so much of a tourist attraction these days. Though the Alliance was working at centralizing the species' cultural and technological heritage in a museum of enormous scale – The Museum of Humanity.
A world so far away from home. A world only a few Humans have set foot on as they sought their fortune outside Alliance space. A world bristling with completely alien life forms. A year ago he was preparing to embark on this ship to see if such places existed. Now he was thrust right in the middle of interstellar politics and conflicts. As a consequence, he will have to lead a group of Special Forces if the politicians give the order. A group of company size.
"It is beautiful, isn't it?" familiar voice of Ashley sked from behind.
"It is," Shepard answered.
Another pair of boots beside Ashley's could be heard entering through the door that was left open. "Reminds me of Hermes Station in orbit over Earth. You can see the continents every two and a half hours from its waiting rooms," Alex chimed in. "Though it is far closer to the planet."
For a brief moment, Shepard's eyes didn't see Illium, but flashes of Humanity's Blue Jewel. He returned to reality, focusing again on the matter at hand. "We'll soon have to assault it," Shepard grimly concluded.
He focused his thoughts on the person that was least familiar to him before assignment to the Normandy. When Shepard had seen her file, he could not help but be bugged about one thing – that she seemingly had eyesight issues without treatment. He had even approached Anderson on the subject. He remembered their conversation.
"Captain… do you have a moment?" he asked of Anderson as he entered his private cabin.
Anderson looked up at him from his desk. Shepard noticed that he was painting a space ship model – an Alexander the Great class ship model if he remembered the old class's design. "Jonathan, what can I do for you?"
"Anderson," Shepard's voice turned like steel, "be honest with me. Why is Sergeant Major Wyatt on my team? In the N7 Special Forces to start with if in her own file it says she's got eyesight problems?"
Anderson sighed as he put away the small brush and the paint. He placed the warship model on its support to dry. "Tell me, son… have you noticed how some of those that have joined the N7 Program have dropped out? From causes like injuries during training, or accidents?" Shepard nodded in slow motion after a moment of thought. "Well, let me clarify it to you and you don't go spreading the word. Understood?"
"Understood, sir," Shepard complied with the unspoken order.
"Do you know why I joined the Navy? Why I left the Corps?" Anderson inquired. Shepard shook his head to convene the negative answer. "You know what N7 augmentations are, you went through the process. But not everybody reacts positively to them. The body might reject them, or an unforeseen or undiscovered condition reacts poorly in contact with the chemicals. Hell, I could not even train new recruits, Shepard. That's how hard it hit me."
"What happened to you, Anderson?" Shepard inquired.
Anderson's eyes betrayed sadness and regret as he remembered everything. "At first, nothing was wrong with me. I was in the first batch of N7s, Shepard. I graduated the program with honors. But… it hit me later. The augmentations are a double edged blade. With one hand, they give you enhanced abilities, while they can take so much from you with the other hand."
"What happened?" Shepard pressed.
"I can't be a Marine anymore," Anderson admitted, his voice forlorn. "My body can't sustain extended effort or my heart will stop if I overwork myself. I get tired quickly if I'm physically burdening myself. I almost died of a stroke when I was diagnosed. The augmentation for enhanced blood stream, denser muscle tissue and overall stamina did this to me. But I do it for more than one hour and I'll collapse from exhaustion."
"Are there no treatments for this?" Shepard inquired.
"Not when I joined the Navy. The doctor wrote me off after a fateful mission… I bet those spooks had something to do with it…" he trailed off, mumbling to himself the last part.
Shepard stood there, his eyes on Anderson's ship model. He didn't know what to say other than what Anderson must have heard many times before. "I'm sorry you've had to go through that, Anderson."
"Yeah… that makes two of us" Anderson agreed, his mouth dry as a desert. He returned his attention to painting the ship model. "Sergeant Major Wyatt's body rejected the ocular augmentations and ended up damaging her eyes. I don't know why the Corps didn't include this to her file you've received, you should've been told under oath of secrecy as the commanding officer. What we do to our N7s can get the Corps in major trouble, the kind that turns the military upside down if it gets out to the public. Yes, she has some eye damage, but she was treated for it. Her file is bollocks so that nobody starts asking questions."
"A person with eyesight issues in the Special Forces? That ought to pique the interest of people," Shepard was quick to point out. "Especially if assigned to front line duty. They could have chosen something else as cover up. Somebody nosy enough can smell the cover up from a mile away."
"She might as well be one of the best hand to hand fighters of the last years' promotions of the N7 Program. And her engineering skills are very good. I know how this looks, but she received multiple commendations from her instructors to continue on front line duty with treatment. I've selected her myself after watching her. Plus… it would have meant to falsify most of her past medical dossier if we went with another cover story. She was already registered for the treatment she received. People have died due to faked medical files, treated for wrong conditions," he trailed off. "Jonathan, Fireteam Immortal has the top scoring graduates in its ranks. Marshal Ney himself has his eyes on you lot."
"A lot of expectations riding on our shoulders, aren't there?" Shepard said. "And you, Anderson? What do you expect?"
He smiled, that fatherly figure that seemed to reassure him every time that everything will be ok gazed at him. Since Anderson was one of the best friends of John's father, the young Shepard came to see him as such to some degree. "My job is to make sure you work as a team, to guide you and evaluate you. The day will come when you will be thrown in the fray and live up to your oath as Humanity's protectors," he said.
Shepard wondered if Anderson knew something at the time and if his last statement was some sort of foreshadowing. Not that he believed in such things, but a man can wonder. Anderson's dossier had its fair share of black ink censor in it.
"You don't know that yet, Major," Ashley said as she stood by his side. He didn't register the two coming this close, lost in his thoughts. "We haven't been given the order."
Alex crossed her arms as her eyes didn't move from the planet. "We all know it won't be any other way. They won't accept it."
"Why would they not?" Ashley asked. "It's a lot of money and we'd get them off their hands. It must be a nightmare to take care for that many Quarians. They can't let their pride think in their stead."
"They won't," Shepard said. "Trust me, they won't. Haven't you seen how they carried themselves during the negotiations with the president after the war?" he inquired. Ashley's silence was her answer. "They are too much like us."
"Or too used to having their way every time."
They stood there, watching the alien stars against the infinite darkness. Every single star was billions or millions of years old. They've seen eons pass by without even feeling it. They've seen civilizations rise and fall without even knowing it. For the average person, they are the eternal specks of light who dot the night sky. They've aided sailors in traversing both the seas and the interstellar vastness.
They watched the dust and gas clouds light years away, shrouding this cluster of stars. They who give birth to new stars, worlds, and eventually new life, veiled in the protective shroud of the nebula. It was the clouds of the Crescent Nebula.
And they watched the tiny dots of light that move at constant speed to and from the planet. Aliens going about their daily lives in this expanse known as the galaxy. Beings who up until recently had no knowledge that Humans even existed, now engaging in different relations with them. Civilizations who were so far away from each other, yet closer than they ever imagined with the advent of faster than light travel.
"I thought it was just us, you know?" Alex broke the silence. "But it's everyone else. Intelligent life is always in conflict. Some sort of conflict."
"Hm?" Ashley turned to look at her.
"We all dreamed or were told that once we meet aliens we'd become better. Join a galactic society, a better world," she continued. "Yet here we are. Perhaps that's why the other species we've found evidence of are no longer with us. Perhaps intelligent life grows too intelligent and violent that it self destructs. And not just our galaxy. But everywhere."
"That's a frightening thought…" Shepard commented with a low voice. "Perhaps intelligent life truly treads on the fine line between genius and madness. But now… now's our time to try to break through. We can pull through. We've always pulled through."
"I'm sure many other races thought the same thing about themselves," Ashley stated.
"The infinite cycle of this Universe…" Alex engaged in a monologue, "just like stars are born and grow old, so do we. And just how they die… so will we. I just hope it won't be a supernova. Or anytime soon. We're the Universe experiencing itself. Every single one of us. Just like it has the means to wreak utter destruction, so do we," she referenced the Alliance developed weapons of mass destruction.
"Are you always this deep, Sergeant Major?" Shepard inquired.
"Only when you let me gaze out the window," she answered.
"Fly envious time…" Ashley mused, remembering why she and Alex came looking for Shepard. "Everybody is gathered in the hangar for the briefing. They're waiting for you, Major."
Shepard pulled his hands from the pockets of his pants and loudly inhaled air. "Let's go. Last briefing before the mess." They made quick steps and headed for the hangar deck where the rest were.
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
SSV Normandy, Hangar deck
They entered the hangar deck through the primary staircase of the ship. The whole hangar deck was bustling with activity. Men in uniforms and combat gear arranged neatly by the walls so they are not in the way. Shepard glanced sideways at the gear of the Fallschirmjäger – armor, weapons, parachute and orbital entry equipment was arranged in an orderly manner. Alex and Ashley separated from him and joined the ranks of the rest of their teammates and of the Fallschirmjäger.
Shepard made his way to the crates they piled up as an improvised stage for him to give his final briefing. The men were coming in front of the stage and were sitting down so everybody has a clear line of sight. He spotted James in the very last row. Even sitting down the man towered over most of the paratroopers and Marines. Captain Reiner Steinhauser met him.
"Major," he greeted him in his not so pronounced German accent.
"Captain," Shepard returned the formal greeting. "How are your men?"
Captain Reiner smiled. "They are eager to jump, Major. Morale is as high as it will ever be. We are all ready to jump into hell and fight our way out."
Shepard nodded in satisfaction. He expected nothing less from one of Earth's elite paratroopers. Captain Reiner Steinhauser was the commanding officer of the 1st Company that's part of 1st Battalion, 26th Fallschirmjäger Regiment, 4th Airborne Special Forces Division, Systems Alliance Army Special Forces. The old national forces have been reformed and restructured into a greater military force than the national militaries. And so, as new special forces units have been created, they too have been reformed, much to the frustration of the traditionalists.
The 26th Fallschirmjäger Regiment that was normally garrisoned in the city of Saarlouis, Germany, was ordered to move out ever since the Alliance and the Quarians considered a military operation to evacuate Quarians trapped on Illium. They've been on the road ever since, with a brief stop on the colony of Aurora for a last orbital jump exercise.
While not something new, orbital insertion is still a practice that can be perfected upon. The first orbital jumps took place in the 2130s when the idea was introduced by Alliance strategists, with the first jumps into combat zones having been witnessed during the Insurrection when Japanese and Chinese airborne troops have jumped from low orbit into the deserts of Kharak. Their operations disrupted the rebel supply lines and threw their forces in disarray when headquarters were destroyed and towns occupied. Other airborne operations took place on Eternium when the Army dropped a VDV combined arms combat brigade to spearhead a Marine landing by securing a large LZ. The last major suborbital airborne operation took place in 2173 when the Alliance Army's American 101st Airborne Division assaulted rebel runaways on the isolated planet Velikaya II. Due to the hazardous character of this method of insertion of military forces into a theatre, orbital and suborbital paratroopers are also called Helljumpers. Casualty rates were very high when the tactic was first implemented and perfected. After the catastrophic first tests, Humans have been banned from testing new orbital jump equipment.
"Then let us get to it," he said before the Captain moved into the rows of the company. Shepard jumped on the crates. Silence fell on the deck as everybody looked up at him. There were almost 300 soldiers before him. "Soldiers!" he shouted. "We will jump in four hours. 1,400 Quarians' freedom depends upon us. I'm sure you're all aware of this. There are almost 300 of us here – Marines, paratroopers and Quarian Marines," he looked to the odd group that was sitting on the flank of the paratroopers. "Lieutenat Kal'Reegar is a veteran of Shanxi. His platoon's presence is vital to the success of our mission. We have Quarian Marines attached to every strike team. The people we aim to free have been cut off from reality for a long time and it is highly unlikely they even know what we are," Shepard informed them. "We don't want to be confused with Batarians and stir panic."
In theory, the plan was not too complicated. The Quarians had been located on the planet. They were working in factories mostly, outside large population centers. There were the few unfortunate to be working in cities, but they would be taken care of by smaller strike teams. They were living in specially set up quarters, communal quarters, when they were not working. That way the corporations were saving tons of money. It is cheaper to feed everyone the same cheap food and keep them crammed in small spaces than to have them live in one room apartments each.
"The first stage of the plan will consist in sending down the first strike teams for the largest concentrations of Quarians," Shepard reminded everyone. "An hour later, the naval task force that is stationed one hour away by FTL means in interstellar space will enter the Tasale System. Multiple stealth ships are already present in system with the first strike teams aboard: the Normandy, Blackreach, Northwind and Wraith. Normandy is the command ship and the one to initiate the hacking process. Edi and the other AIs have already infiltrated Illium's networks and power distribution servers." They had days to do it. Each stealth frigate carried additional troops in their hangar bays, up to a company in size.
"Second stage consists in actually triggering the virus that will shut down Illium's power network and, literally, fuck up their communications," Shepard stated in a jokingly manner. "Brass estimates this to last only 4 hours, 6 if we are lucky, before they restart everything and clear communications. This phase must begin as soon as we jump and break atmosphere."
The naval task force is codenamed Task Force Kuznetsov after the flagship, SSV Kuznetsov – an Olympus-class carrier. Commanding officer was Admiral Radoslaw Radovid. The Quarian fleet will be delivered by SSV Hecate – a Titan-class packer refitted to ferry warships or large constructs over large distance for 'hot drops' in combat immediately.
"The third stage is to hit the Quarian centers and liberate them. UT-50 Alligator transport aircraft will take them to the ships in orbit for immediate evacuation. Our job on ground is to make sure the Quarians get out safely and delay any brave attack Illium's defense forces or mercenaries might pull off," he explained.
There would be no need for many boots on the ground if Illium's corporations did not employ mercenary outfits to protect their holdings. And many made sure to keep a good eye on their precious Quarian engineers or whatever they had to protect from corporate enemies. There was also the Illium Defense Force which was a volunteer militia with decent equipment, but corporate interests had turned it into a paralyzed army. For a better comparison, one could see Illium's Defense Force as an army where every commander does as he pleases: he attacks when he wants and where he wants, and defends what he wishes and when he wishes. Or takes orders from the person that's paying him/her the most. It's more of a coalition of relatively uniformed units whose sole common interests are to make money and to make sure nobody jumps the planet's money making machines with bombs and guns.
"The fourth stage is simply extracting the groundside military forces and go at FTL to the rendezvous point. That's the wider plan of this operation. You know the details," he recounted and brought up a map showing their AO – area of operations.
The map was square shaped and covered a surface of 100 square kilometers, with an arrow pointing north. A road was stretching on a northeast-southwest direction, parallel to a river's course – Atifail River. In the middle was their target: the Quarian ghetto. Two hundred meters down the north to the northeast were the factories. A secondary road leads from the main road to the factories and the ghetto. The ghetto was flanked to the east by the main road and to the west by a small clearing followed by a forest and the river. The Atifail River itself was running down the large valley. Its western banks are sharp cliffs of an old mountain that was eroded by the elements throughout the ages.
The road itself takes a Z turn just before the ghetto, a forest standing between the road and the ghetto in the middle of the turn. To the east of the road was a series of hills dominating the valley from the center. A tall peak, Hill 410, offered the best vantage point in the area, standing at an elevation of 410 meters compared to the valley. From there, a person has eyes on the ghetto, both sides of the road, the river, and the length of the road. At least those parts of the road not hidden by trees. To the east, the hill is flanked by a clearing. Between the hill and the road are a few trees with mostly open terrain.
"As you can see on this map, this clearing," Shepard indicated to the east of the hill, "will be our LZ and evacuation point. From there, we'll move on to our objective. Chief Williams and the anti-air team will move on this hill here," Shepard pointed to a peak with the number 410 on it. "Hill 410 offers a fantastic vantage point. She will be our eyes at distance and will engage hostiles with the sniper rifle. Additionally, two more men with MANPADS will stay with her to counter any aerial enemy assets and for additional support if her position comes under attack," Shepard retold the plan of their assault. "Clear so far?"
"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison.
"The Normandy will drop us from orbit. We'll jump right out of this hangar from an altitude of 400 kilometers." Hearing this, Kal'Reegar slowly shook his head. His platoon had exercised the practice five times already while preparing for this operation. But it still felt wrong to do it. "We'll be in free fall until we reach parachute deployment altitude. You've trained for this before. You're paratroopers, you know the song. For the most part, we'll be using the orbital entry gear to slow our descent."
The map turned blue where the LZ is. An arrow with the letters REC, from recon, pointed to Hill 410. Another arrow pointed from the LZ to the edge of the woods just east of the road. From there, another arrow separated to point south in the woods and the other to the wood south of the ghetto. "First and second Fallschirmjäger platoons will take positions in the woods east and west of the road to block any reinforcements from advancing and cutting us off. Nos Astra is Illium's largest city, the one with the highest strategic value. Hence the Illium Defense Force has garrisoned it with four divisions worth of troops. They will have enough time to deploy reinforcements since the nearest garrison is 50 kilometers south of our AO in the city's spaceport area."
"Realistically speaking, does HIGHCOM truly believe they will react?" Reegar asked. "The IDF is extremely slow to react to such an emergency where only select locations are targeted."
"The corporate entity with ownership over the ghetto and factories we will hit is an affiliate of Serrice Council – the largest producer and developer of biotic related enhancements," Shepard stated. "You might know that they are an Asari corporate entity with stakes and investments in Illium. This is one of their primary factories where bioamps are manufactured. You can bet everything you have that once they get word that something is up, they will send military forces to secure their factory. Aside from bioamps, this factory is also assembling mass effect field generators as components for vehicles. Serrice Council has deep pockets and this is a large production plant. We are confident that in the last stage of our mission we will come in contact with elements of the Illium Defense Force whose commanders are in the pockets of Serrice Council," he answered.
"Understood," Reegar nodded.
Another arrow went straight for the ghetto. "Lieutenant Reegar's men, fourth platoon and the other members of Fireteam Immortal will push for the ghetto. In the northeastern corner the guard barracks can be found. We estimate up to 200 armed private contractors to garrison and provide security. Giving that we'll be dropping during the night time, we'll be taking them by surprise. Our goal is to neutralize their fighting capability by separating them from their weapons and confining them to living quarters. James will carry incendiary grenades that we hope will melt the armory and all weapons they hold there."
Shepard knew the natural question that will follow. So he addressed it before it could be asked. "If we are unable to neutralize their fighting capability, we are to pin them down and prevent them from making any impact during the evacuation. Third platoon will split into fireteams and spread out across the evacuation corridor. Forward elements will assist with assaulting the ghetto and with preventing any hostile elements from moving from the factory to the ghetto. A firing line will be set up along the road between the ghetto and factory."
"Fireteam Immortal will storm the barracks, attempt to neutralize the enemy's capabilities and open the locks on the Quarian holding quarters. Many doors are under electronic lock and, according to Edi's information, they are controlled from the barracks," Shepard continued. "Lieutenant Reegar's platoon will move through the living quarters and evacuate the Quarians. Fourth platoon elements will support both Fireteam Immortal in assaulting the barracks and evacuating the workers."
"One aspect of this operation that we must not forget," Shepard stated and raised a finger to make sure everybody's attention was fully dedicated to the briefing, "is that there are not just Quarians housed here. There are also Asari workers. Some one hundred or so. We must be careful not to inflict casualties on them, don't misidentify them as hostiles unless they are armed or attack you. They will be left behind as they do not constitute the objective of this mission. Understood?" he inquired. The whole company worth of soldiers nodded almost in synchronization.
"That's the brief of it, just for protocol," Shepard stated. "We'll jump soon. Eat a good meal, check your supplies, your ammunition, your weapons… the gear, check your armor. Check the orbital drop equipment. Make sure you are not missing anything. And don't forget to take a shit," he said and caused them to chuckle. "Especially your platoon, Lieutenant Reegar. I've heard you screaming during the drills on Aurora at your first jump."
For his part, Reegar didn't take the jab to his pride lying down. "With all due respect, Major, it was because your mother was jumping behind me. Was afraid more of her weight crushing me before I fall to my death."
"Ouuh, burn!" Alex said just loud enough for Ashley and the few Germans near her to hear and laugh.
"Questions?" Shepard inquired. Nobody budged. "Remember that our ambassadors and HIGHCOM will be following us live. Everybody is dismissed. Fireteam Immortal, I'll see you in the armory in five."
Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T – 0H 20M
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
Low orbit above Illium, SSV Normandy
"One more cruiser just jumped into system with frigate escort," Edi reported. "Identified as Nefrane-class heavy cruiser, operated by Asari Unified Fleet."
"That's not much," Lieutenant Commander Charles Pressly, XO of the Normandy remarked. He is as level headed as they come. Perhaps too confident sometimes.
"Oh, not too much," Joker's sarcastic voice said from the helm. "This brings the total numbers to three dreadnoughts, 44 cruisers and scores of frigates."
"We can take them on if we need to. Hundreds of Quarian Republic battle vessels are one hour away with an entire carrier battlegroup. Besides, those three dreadnoughts are private owned warships. I highly doubt they have upgraded their systems like the national navies did against cybernetic warfare," Pressly reasoned.
"They are operated by private companies who're taking their work seriously," Shepard chimed in from his almost full combat armor, only helmet missing. "And they have the money to spare. If I was them I'd get my hands on the best cyber warfare suites available. A bribe at the right time, to the right person can get you the best Asari defense suites."
"I doubt the Asari military would give out their stuff on a silver platter to third parties, Shepard. If they are compromised, then their military is compromised as well," Tali reasoned.
She was on the ship as the Quarian attaché. She was part of the team that developed the virus that will paralyze the planet and Normandy was the ship to deliver it. It was acting as both the dagger and the nervous system of the operation. The Normandy-class frigate has the capability to act as command center due to its cutting edge stealth systems (which are its primary defense and offense) and its advanced communications array.
"But we all know that the Illium Defense Force is in the pockets of the Republics," Shepard pointed out.
"God damn corporate politics…" Pressly cursed.
"Enough chatter," Anderson ordered as he just received news from the communications officer. "Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM has just been approved." Silence engulfed the CIC as he announced the news. Only the faint humming of the ship's systems and the consoles produced any noise for a few seconds. "We proceed according to plan. Sound general quarters, we are going in."
The alarms screamed throughout the ship for three seconds before Edi's voice took over the horn, the alarm subsiding in volume. "General quarters! General quarters! All hands man your battle stations! Repeat. General quarters! General quarters! All hands man your battle stations!"
"Sir!" Shepard saluted as he left and jogged his way down to the armory. The small crew of the Normandy rushed from their previous locations to their designated action stations if they were not already there. He passes by Corporal Jenkins as he leaves the CIC. "Take care of the ship for me, Jenkins!"
"Will do, sir!" he replied and saluted. Being on guard duty, he was already in his T-Kev Mod S armor.
Shepard rushed down the stairs to the deck below. He caught a glimpse of the mountain of the crew, James, entering the armory. He passed by Private Westmoreland who stood guard at the entrance to the armory. Edi was only a second behind him. Inside, Kaidan, Alex and Ashley were already checking their weapons.
"So, they really did not want to negotiate, did they?" Ashley asked.
"No. They did not," Shepard cut in. "We're going through with the plan. You remember the details from the briefing?" he asked as he was putting on his helmet. His eyes darted between his subordinates. He received affirmative nods. The eye slit of the helmet was narrow, but large enough to not hamper his field of view. "Take an extra magazine with you," he ordered.
"Aye, sir," they replied.
Shepard grabbed an M7H Lancer rifle from the weapons rack. He put it in the jump bag. The jump bag is a separate compartment used by paratroopers to carry your main weapon when jumping. Attaching it to the back would only mess and tangle with the main parachute's ropes, thus leading to a fatal plummet. He attached the ammo belt to his waist and fastened it so it wouldn't fall off. It was kept in its place by both strips and magnetic clamps. They were preloaded with magazines full of bullets.
He glanced once at his teammates. Kaidan was ready. He carried tens of kilograms of gear on him right now, most of which he'll shed – the orbital entry gear and the parachute. "Time to dance to the song," he said. "Everyone ready?" he looked around as well.
James was fastening a pair of grenades to his belt. He then put his hands on the backpack that was held in front. "Never liked orbital jumps, dammit," he complained. "All ready."
"Let's go, James," Kaidan turned around. "It wouldn't be the first time I hear you scream like a little girl," he teased him. The mountain of a man knocked once with his knuckles over Kaidan's helmet in response. The Lieutenant felt his head pushed down a bit. "Hey!"
"El-tee has the cojones to jump, but no cojones to hook up," James fired back as he left Kaidan behind.
"Ooh, you're going down, Vega!" Kaidan promised as he followed shortly behind.
Ashley was making sure the leather belt of the large jump bag she used to carry her sniper rifle was tight. Her rank insignia was barely visible, being both secluded by the parachute bag and the camouflage color like the armor. It would make it very hard for snipers to identify officers or senior NCOs that way.
"Kids these days…" she mused in regards to the teasing contest the two had moments before.
Edi's robotic form was covered in armor plates. Her UP robotic body model was specially modified for military service and allowed for the attachment of armor plates. She was sporting N7 armor over her body, only the joints being more exposed. But all armor sets have their joints least protected to allow for increased mobility. Alex knocked twice on her shoulder. "Damn, you look more badass with all this jump gear on you," she complimented Edi.
"Thank you, Sergeant Major Wyatt," Edi returned. "I suspect it will have negative psychological impact on enemy combatants from up close."
"Come on, we've known each other for months now. You don't have to talk to me like that. We're same rank," she said as they both filed out of the armory. The FN Minimi Mk II was dangling by her side in its own bag. Shepard couldn't help but think how his whole team looked like they were carrying children as they moved with all that gear, the main weight being at the front. He was the last one to leave the armory and follow his team to the hangar.
SSV Normandy, Hangar deck
"Come on, get moving!" the Normandy's deck crew was hurrying along. They made sure that everything was secured and that no equipment will be lost when the ramp opens to let loose the infantry.
"Alright, are you all ready?" Reegar asked from his men. They had gathered around him. Their faces were showing as they had taken down their masks to administer immune system boosting pills. It will increase their chances to avoid infections and diseases if their skin is punctured.
"Honestly, I am scared," one of the soldiers under his direct command confined to him. "This is pure crazy! Who even came up with the idea of parachute jumping from low orbit? The Humans are crazy!" he complained.
"Yes," another one supported him. "I mean, we can understand Asari biotic divers, but they do it from a few kilometers and they have mastered their biotics. Or the Turian rocketeers. They have jetpacks for limited enhanced mobility. We're jumping from 500 kilometers with a sheet of cloth strapped to our backs!"
Reegar faced his face mask back on to the helmet. "It worked for them and the generals believe this is the best course of action. Orbital parachuting is a proven method to them. You've trained, jumped at Aurora. Remember your training and we'll pull through this. The hardest part is jumping. The rest is easy," he assured them. He glanced sideways and spotted the team of Marines filing from the elevator. "Saenn," he looked to his second in command in the platoon, "last minute check with the platoon."
"Yes, sir!" he conformed and turned to his comrades, enumerating all items they were supposed to have on them. On the surface, they were dressed up similarly to late stage astronauts' gear [1]. Beneath the clothing that served to combat orbital jump hazards, they were covered in armor plates and then their normal suits. Unlike the Alliance T-Kev series of body armor, Quarians required an additional layer. T-Kev Mod S for Special Forces and Marines is designed to support low orbit airborne operations and long exoatmospheric operations, hence why the Marines and the Fallschirmjäger didn't require additional equipment.
"Waffencheck!" he heard Captain Reiner Steinhauser yell to his men.
"Five minutes to drop point,"Edi stated via the intercom for the whole hangar to hear. "All personnel evacuate the hangar deck! Paratroopers, stand by!"
"Fünf Minuten! Ausrichten!" Steinhauser shouted in German. Reegar didn't understand what he was saying as only English was translated for alien communication, but he guessed the meaning. While English is the lingua franca, there are 7 primary languages the Alliance operates with in its administration: English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi and Portuguese. This does not mean the other languages are not spoken. They are, but among their native speakers, and official documents of public interest are published translated in almost every language spoken on Earth.
Reegar's eyes darted around. There was commotion big time. "Good luck out there, Major!" he heard one of the shuttle pilots and engineers – Steve Cortez – shout to Shepard.
"Thanks, Steve!" he gave him a thumbs up. "I'll get you a souvenir!" he shouted before the pilot disappeared. Shepard then looked at the soldiers around. "Attention!" he shouted to get everyone's attention. "Form up in lines! We're less than five minutes out! Each platoon to the ramp according to the order of jump!"
Reegar signaled his men to follow him as everybody lines up near the ramp. The Fallschirmjäger were the first to jump, the diving eagle on each man's armor's chest plate visible in the light. Then, it was Reegar's platoon. Reegar's platoon will be followed by Fireteam Immortal. They formed in four lines five meters from the ramp's mouth.
"Two minutes to jump point! Opening the ramp!"
As Illium's dark shape came to form in his eyes, Reegar suddenly came to question his courage. A barrier formed by a mass effect field held the air in. He could see the lights of Nos Astra beneath him as the ramp fully lowered. They are jumping at night.
"Fallschirmjäger!" Steinhauser shouted once. With all their might, the company chanted:
Wie weit der Marsch auch immer sei,
Wir finden bald die Schlacht.
Entschlossen, stets zum kampf bereit,
im Angriff Tag und Nacht.
Das Gewehr fest gefaßt und verwegen
die feindiche Stellung gesturmt!
mit "Hurra" dem Tode entgegen,
Der Gegner ergibt sich und turmt!
Their enthusiasm and the power behind their words, though the meaning lost to Reegar, filled him with resolve. There was something primal to it. Something that urged him to stand fast, to go there with no fear in his heart. There was something special in the military songs the Humans had. [2]
"Ground contingent, stand by to jump on my mark,"Edi broadcasted through the intercom, though her robotic form was there. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Mark! Jump!"
"Los, los, los!" Steinhauser shouted as his hand made the universal sign of 'go'.
"Hurra!" they cried as each line of paratroopers disappeared.
Once every German was out, Reegar moved up. "Go! Go! Jump!" he commanded his men and, to lead by example, was the first to turn his back to his platoon and rush down the ramp. With a push of the legs, he was free of Normandy's artificial gravity, in a free fall toward the wilderness of Illium.
Shepard could swear he heard a sudden scream as Reegar's feet left the Normandy.
SSV Normandy, CIC
"Two minutes to jump point! Opening the ramp!" Edi communicated to the CIC crew of the Normandy. "Sixty minutes until arrival of Task Force Kuznetsov."
"No word from HIGHCOM," Pressly noted as he made another tour of the 'trenches'. Anderson has lost count how many times he did it.
Anderson sighed. "Alright, let's do this," he ordered. "Edi, signal to all ships and AIs, continue Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM according to the plan. The aliens did not want to negotiate."
"Roger that. Triggering the virus."
Tali watched from her post the whole thing unfold. This was not just to save her people, but also test ground for the virus. It was designed to kill Geth servers. Trying it on Asari servers, the second best after Geth hardware in known Citadel or Terminus space, would give them significant insight. As real a test case they could get.
"Virus triggered," Edi reported. "Power plants and power distribution shutting down planet wide and on orbital stations. Attempting offensive cybernetic warfare operations against the Illium Defense Force ships and allied Asari ships."
Tali watched how the lights on the night side of Illium's cities flickered away from existence. Whole continents just went dark. Extranet servers have been shut down. Transactions have been terminated. With this move, they just paralyzed galactic transactions in this area of the galaxy. The effects on economy will be felt on the Citadel very soon. The economy will take another drop, perhaps even larger than the one felt due to the merchant losses sustained by the Salarians during the Terran Blitz.
Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T + 0H 05M
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
ARS Coris, Bridge
One moment everything was fine. The other, everything went to hell. That's how the commanding officer of the Asari Republics ship Coris, Captain Batiphea, can describe the situation at best.
"Goddess' tits! WHAT IS HAPPENING!?" Batiphea shouted. It hadn't been long since they arrived in system and had been preparing to dock at the Tasale fuel anchorage. The pilot of the cruiser was bringing the ship to berth with the help of navigation VIs when the lights of the anchorage went off and they were now blind. Other sensors had been engaged and were being used to see what was around them.
"Collision alert! Collision alert!" one of the VIs installed warned them.
"Engaging forward maneuver thrusters!" the pilot notified the bridge crew. She set the main propulsion engines and lateral thrusters to 0 thrust and engaged the frontal thrusters. No pilot in the Republics earned its place if it was unable to avoid collision with a relatively stationary target. If it hadn't been for the inertial dampeners, they would have felt with pain in their bodies the sudden shift of thrust. The cruiser was now moving away from the station.
"Oh, that's not good," Batiphea heard somebody say aloud. "A freighter is coming right at us from the rear!"
"Collision alert! Collision alert!" the VI warned again. "Time to impact: 60 seconds!"
"Get me a line to the station's traffic control!" Batiphea ordered. "What are they doing!?" she was almost outraged.
"Right away!" One of her communications officer was doing her best. "Traffic control, this is cruiser Coris, come in," she spoke into the headset's microphone and waited three seconds. "Traffic control, do you read?"
"We're getting zero signals from the station! It's like they've lost all power!"
"Not just this station," somebody else pointed out. "Almost everything around Illium is dead! No signals, no power, nothing!"
"Collision alert! Collision alert! Time to impact: 30 seconds!" the VI continued to warn.
"Pilot, maneuver us out of its way! Right now!" the captain ordered.
"I am trying!" the pilot replied. "But I don't have much room to maneuver! We have a berth to our starboard and there are docked ships all around! That thing's gonna crash right into us on the inbound lane!"
"Collision alert! Collision alert! Time to impact: 10 seconds!"
"Move forward! All power, forward!" Batiphea ordered.
The ship suddenly jolted forward as the main thrusters were powered to 100% and were doing their best to move the ship out of the way and open the distance.
"What the hell is the crew of that freighter doing!? Hail them! They're about to cause an accident!"
"They're moving on inertia, drifting at the speed they lost power at!" she heard a report.
"We're opening the distance, but we have the anchorage in front of us!" the pilot stated.
"Those idiots, they're going to ram straight into the refuel station…" Batiphea muttered. "We must stop them before they collide! Slow us down! We'll stop them before they drift into the station!"
"Roger that!" the pilot confirmed the order.
The ARS Coris slowed down as the freighter approached them from the rear. The 150 meter long cargo ship came closer and closer. And then, it made contact with the rear hull of the cruiser.
All across the Tasale System, ships that have been hacked by Alliance Navy or AIC AIs specialized in cybernetic warfare were losing power. Cruiser Coris was picking up more and more transponders going offline and ships appeared on their tactical map as unknown bogeys. And then it happened to the Coris as well. They were left without communications and thrusters. The ship briefly touched the station and came to a rest on the station's hull.
Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T + 1H 40M
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
Illium, 50km north of Nos Astra
Reegar walked through the forest with quick steps. The paratroopers were just ahead of his platoon. Two of the platoons had split up and went to occupy positions just south of them, to block the road with flanking fire. Shepard's team was also in front. He carried his Arc assault rifle, the standard weapon of the former Migrant Fleet Marines, currently Quarian Republic Marines. As he jumped over roots sticking out of the ground, he felt his feet sink in mud on contact with the forest soil.
'Shit!' he cursed. Just his luck to stomp right in a pool of mud. He held the rifle with his right hand while the left was used to anchor himself with the tree. With the 'help' of the tree, Reegar liberated his feet from the captivity of the mud. He continued to walk, eyes both forward and at the ground from time to time. The night was still in its element, but it was breaking for dawn at the horizon line.
He picked up the pace until he almost caught up to Shepard with his own platoon. They came to a halt when the Major raised a closed fist into the air from his crouched position. They were at the hundred meters from the tree line of the forest. Three hundred meters away was the road and, across the road, the ghetto. A large tower stood in the northeastern corner by the walls. It was a tower with sensors attached to it, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.
"Do you think they've spotted us?" Reegar asked.
"Don't think so. We should be camouflaged to thermal and standard sight," Shepard replied. The armor they wore and the additional layer on the Quarians helped them camouflage from electronic sighting systems. "Drones, out!" the Major ordered.
Two of Reegar's men activated their omnitools and prepared two drones with their backs to the ghetto so the light produced by the omnitools would not give them away. Seconds later, the drones sped away, flying centimeters from the soil. Once they reached the wall, the drones shot upwards until they reached the tower. Moments later, the tower was incapacitated at the expenditure of the two drones. The general surveillance was down.
"I think it's down," the Quarian technician reported. "Drones are fried too."
"Good job," Shepard complimented them. "Let's move! We're against the clock here."
"Immortal One, be advised, I'm seeing movement inside the ghetto," Ashley reported. She was up on Hill 410 with her sniper rifle, on overwatch duty. "They might have been alerted to your presence."
"Copy that!" Shepard acknowledged. They reached the wall at the southeastern corner, rifles trained on various angles to cover each other. "Breaching charges!" he ordered.
Two paratroopers place breaching charges on the walls of the ghetto. Everybody stays clear of the blast as two big holes are punched into the wall. The wall was there mostly to keep wildlife outside and to closely monitor and regulate the flux of people, least unauthorized individuals get inside and cause an incident.
The German paratroopers stormed through the left hole that was blown into the southern wall. Fireteam Immortal and Reegar's platoon came pouring in through the hole in the eastern wall. The first through the breach was Edi with her reinforced armor. She walked quickly through the courtyard until she reached the cover of a large transportation vehicle in the small parking lot close to the eastern gate. Just across the parking lot was a checkpoint and the barracks of the mercenaries. The living quarters of the Quarians were 100 meters away by the northern wall. A storehouse was by the eastern wall, probably used to store food and various commodities. They were resupplied by the very truck Edi was taking cover behind while her sensors scoured the surroundings.
Edi spotted a Turian in what looked like body armor and a pistol in his hand. He was coming out to investigate the explosions. "Contact!" she reported and did not hesitate and fired two shots across the parking lot into the Turian. The first 7.62 bullet pierced his head clean through, leaving a big exit hole in his skull. The second hit his head millimeters above the first hole and cracked his head open like a watermelon.
"Hostile neutralized!" she reported.
"Let's move!" Shepard encouraged the soldiers. He glanced around. "Immortals, make for the barracks! Fourth platoon, spread out! Follow the plan!" he ordered.
Edi took point as she approached the entrance to the barracks where the mercenary guards spent their free time. Shepard was following right behind her, his rifle aiming over her shoulder at the doors. Behind him was Alex, her machinegun covering the first floor windows. Kaidan was the fourth in line, checking the surroundings to their right. Last was James, watching over the left side and to the rear. They were quick on their feet.
Gunfire erupted by the storehouse. Reegar's platoon must have encountered resistance. "Hostiles down!" Shepard heard moments later on the radio. "Proceeding to the housing apartments."
"Secure the storehouse, paratroopers!" Shepard ordered. The last thing they needed was one guard hiding there and take them by surprise when they least wanted it. Maybe even shoot the Quarians when they are being evacuated.
Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T + 2H 0M
Illium, Nos Astra
Northern garrison, 4th Nos Astra Volunteer Regiment
Commander Vium Raditora was sunk in a deep, sweet sleep before she was rudely awakened by the ongoing commotion. A lot of yelling, a lot of background noise from people running about, and darkness. That was some one hour and thirty minutes ago. The entirety of Nos Astra had lost power. The barracks of the 4th Volunteers was able to restore power one hour after the blackout with the help of secondary generators that they hadn't used for decades. To say she was a pissed off Asari matron would be an understatement.
They were still struggling to set up lines of communication with the rest of the city and the planet. They had restored some form of intermittent contact with other military assets on the planet and with some of the space stations in orbit of Illium. Apparently, they were under attack by the Humans.
Raditora didn't have the slightest idea why the Humans would be now on Illium with military forces. She knew she had sporadic reports and all pointed the same way: the Systems Alliance was here with the Navy and ground forces. She heard that there was some fighting in Nos Astra itself, around the industrial districts. The 3rd Volunteers Regiment was already scrambling to intervene since armed law enforcement was overwhelmed. The 1st and 2nd Regiments were being rerouted to relief and evacuation efforts. The Humans were focusing, at least according to unconfirmed reports, on Quarian housing buildings. She had also given the order for her regiment to prepare for combat. Vehicles were being loaded and taken out from the garage. The troops had been woken up, they were putting their battle dress uniforms on and arming up.
"Receiving traffic from Amarina garrison," an Asari said and then paused to listen to the message. "We have confirmation of battle between Human forces and the Amarina garrison in the outskirts of the city," one of her staff informed her. "They are going for the Quarian housing apartments of the Nashan Stellar Dynamics…" she paused to listen again. "17th Amarina is unable to break through enemy resistance."
Raditora was building an image in her mind. She remembered the articles in the press, about Rael'Zorah trying to negotiate an immediate termination of the Quarians' contracts on Illium. Now that they didn't get what they wanted at the negotiations table, they were coming to get it by force. They were coming to get the Quarians by force.
Amarina was the second largest city of Illium, after Nos Astra. Its garrison was comprised of locals who volunteer for service. Each regiment is assigned a number of order, usually the latest regiment plus one, and take up the name of the city they garrison. The Illium Defense Force is comprised of such land forces.
"We know exactly where the enemy is a city away, but we don't know where exactly they are in Nos Astra!" Raditora shouted. "Find out! Now!" At best, they could go and follow gunfire, like the 3rd Regiment was doing – and end up ambushed by enemy units and harassed along the way.
"Flash traffic message!" another one of her staff reported. "A Quarian naval squadron is in orbit, above Nos Astra! Our ground based orbital defenses are still offline. Threat of orbital bombardment is imminent on the whole region!"
"How are preparations looking?" Raditora inquired.
"We have the 1st Infantry Battalion and elements of the 4th Heavy Armor Battalion ready," the subordinate answered.
"Air assets!?" she demanded.
"Scrambling now!"
Raditora gritted her teeth. "Move faster!" she ordered. "Get those useless shits out there, now!" Just as she issued the furious orders, her omnitool was pinging. It must be the hundredth call in two hours. She didn't bother to see who it is. A single ping let her know somebody tried to contact her before the settings automatically ignored the call. "I want the regiment to move out as soon as we get exact location of enemy beachheads in Nos Astra!" She didn't discount the possibility of an invasion, however unlikely it was.
"Commander!" a Turian called her by rank. He came running to her. She recognized him as a communications operator of the garrison. "Somebody wants to talk to you. Called on the emergency channels."
"Who is it?" she inquired.
"It's Nassana Dantius, Commander," he clarified.
"What does she want? We are in the middle of something here."
Nassana Dantius – one of the most controversial Asari businesspeople. Her unscrupulous business habits, namely killing off opposition, including her sister, earned her the unenvied reputation she's enjoying today. She could not kill the Serrice Council's corporate leadership, though. And, rather than be squashed under the giant's foot, she joined them and added her companion to the long list of companies under Serrice Council's trademark. She was basically one of the top managers of Serrice Council on Illium.
"Fuck!" she cursed in a hushed voice.
"The call is on hold, Commander."
She didn't need to ask more. Serrice Council, through Nassana Dantius, owned Raditora and her regiment. It was their money that kept her unit fitted. And it was their money that enabled Raditora to lead a comfortable life with enough to spare for vacations. On a rich and expensive world like Illium, this says something. She followed the Turian operator and he handed her a headset with a microphone.
"Commander Vium Raditora here," she spoke into the microphone.
"Where the hell have you been? I'm not paying you to ignore my calls!" Dantius complained.
"We are in a bit of a situation if you haven't received the news, Nassana."
"Fuck whatever you were doing! We've lost contact with our factory and received an SOS message just recently. The Humans are attacking my factory!"
"It's not yours, it belongs to Serrice Council."
"Semantics. Hurry up and stop them before they destroy it and kill all my workers! The guards are overwhelmed."
"It will take my troops 30 minutes to get to your factory, Nassana," Raditora informed her.
"I own you. I can take everything from you. Get there in 20 or you can kiss everything you have goodbye!" Dantius drove her point across. "I'm expecting regular updates every 30 minutes from you," and the line went dead.
Raitora cursed again. She didn't even have a chance to ask for estimated enemy strength.
"Fuck!"
Operation ILLIUM FREEDOM: T + 2H 50M
Crescent Nebula, Tasale System
Illium, 48km north of Nos Astra
"We have an aerial bogey," Captain Reiner heard on radio from Ashley. "Ten clicks out. Approaching fast. We can engage."
He looked over the line of men he had with him. He was in the woods on the western side of the road. He was with the platoon most isolated and who will find it harder to retreat when the order is given.
"Immortal Four, take it down," Shepard briefly ordered.
"Wilco," she acknowledged.
Reiner looked at the southern sky. He expected the anti air missile to streak across the sky any moment now. And, not ten seconds later, one MANPADS launched missile rose to the heavens from Hill 410. It was fast. It was out of line of sight in seconds. He waited with bated breath.
"Target hit!" one of the two paratroopers that were with Ashley reported on radio. "Glancing hit. It's crashing."
Reiner saw a bright light that lived for mere seconds before dark fell upon the horizon. He knew the Illium forces were moving on them.
"All units, be advised," Ashley's voice came alive on the radio once more. "I have eyes on a column of what looks like troop transports and armor on the highway. Heading our way, high speed. They'll encounter 1st and 2nd platoons in five minutes."
Reiner turned his microphone online. "Eagle Actual here, we copy," Reiner said. "What's the strength of the enemy force?"
"Two armored personnel carriers are spearheading, probably reconnaissance. Then in this order: tank… four APCs or IFVs… tank… six troop transports. Possibly more on their way, but I can't see due to the tree line."
"Copy that, Immortal Four. We'll be holding them off. Immortal One, what is your ETA?" Reiner asked on radio. His finger toyed with the trigger of his rifle.
"Securing the barracks and blowing up armories!" Shepard said, gunfire obvious in the background. "Reegar's pushed to the apartments! Most of the courtyard is secured. Pushing to the control center! ETA: maybe three hours to fully evacuate! Can you hold them off?"
"Affirmative. Good luck, Immortal One. Eagle Actual, out."
Reiner went prone on the forest soil. Foliage and dirt covered him. Rocks and small ridges were providing protection to his men. He was with the first platoon, in the patch of forest between the river and the road. The second platoon was in the woods on the eastern side of the road.
"We're ready, sir," a subordinate reported to him.
"I want two AT weapons ready to go against those tanks," Reiner instructed the man who nodded and ran away in a crouched manner to carry out the order. Reiner looked to his right and to his left. His men were eager to engage, fingers on the trigger and weapons aimed ahead. Maybe he could put the Illium forces a bit on edge. "Immortal Four, this is Eagle Actual, feel free to hit those two recons if you're confident you won't blow your cover away."
After a moment of deliberation, Ashley replied. "Negative on that, Eagle."
The lightly armored, fast moving vehicle cut through the air at ground level due to its element zero enhanced mobility. The small core makes the reconnaissance vehicle pull maneuvers at speeds it normally wouldn't be possible without injuring the crew.
"We're approaching the objective," one of the two Asari operators reported through radio. "Nothing detected yet on sensors."
"Continue scouting. Somebody shot down our recon shuttle," Raditora ordered them.
"Understood."
The lead car entered the Z turn, sandwiched on both flanks by the woods. Its sensors scoured the surroundings for anything that could belong to the enemy.
"Hey," the sensors operator tapped the driver on the shoulder, "I have silhouettes in the trees! Shit!"
Not a moment later, a missile flew from the tree line on their east and slammed into the side of the leading recon vehicle. The explosion threw the military hardware off the road in the shape of a burning wreck, two cremated Asari bodies inside.
The second recon vehicle didn't fare any better to the surprise attack. A second missile fired from a light AT weapon found its mark on it and obliterated the vehicle.
"We've lost our recon!" Raditora heard the subordinate responsible with communications. "Ambushed!"
She cursed under her breath. "Halt our ride! Get us into cover," she ordered the driver of the APC that acted as her command vehicle. She began issuing orders. "Battalion, deploy! Enemy forces are ahead of our location. Deploy in an attack line!"
Raditora's APC veered off the road and lagged behind. After the other vehicles of the convoy went ahead, her APC moved into the safety of a rocky outcrop with vegetation to mask it. The commanding officer disembarked, a pair of holographic glasses over her eyes. She peeked her head over the rocks to follow the deployment of her force. The lenses acted as binoculars.
The lead tank accelerated to take point. The second tank was still at the rear, falling into the standard formation. The infantry – all Asari at this point – was disembarking and spreading over the grassy field. The woods were up ahead.
"I see something on infrared! Something's moving between the trees!" the tank's crew reported.
"Fire on the enemy if you see him!" Raditora ordered.
The tank's machinegun fired into the woods. Raditora didn't see if it hit anything. The enemy was still to return fire. The APCs were advancing, trying to flush out the Humans. Infantry was advancing with weapons forward. They still had to cover 500 meters to the tree line.
"Get down! Don't walk upright! Makes yourselves small targets!" she advised her subordinates. The rather poor quality of her volunteers was visible to any decent career military person.
Something flew out of the tree canopy, a trail of smoke behind it. Raditora's eyes widened. She recognized a missile any hour of the day. The Humans were firing back. The missile flew maybe 100 meters into the air before it arched forward and came down on its target. The missile struck the leading tank on the top of the turret without so much as triggering kinetic barriers. A short lived flash signaled the end of the tank. The missile penetrated the top of the turret and filled the interior with incandescent flames. Heavy smoke began to come out of various points as the tank came to an abrupt stop.
'Fuck!' Raditora cursed. A hatch popped open and a single crewmember came out. She staggered as she pulled her body through the rear hatch. Her clothes were burnt and she was on fire. The stench of meat on fire permeated through the air. Burned meat. As if left unattended on the stove. She staggered until a trooper caught her and helped her walk to safety. The clothes on her began to crumble when touched. As she walked to the rear, her chest burst open. A bullet hit her in the back and blew a hole the size of a golf ball in her chest as it left the body through the front.
The entire tree line suddenly lit up with gunfire. A macabre concert of firearms cutting down people unfolded before Raditora's own eyes. The soldiers of the battalion were wavering under the heavy, concentrated fire. Tracers flew through the air as everybody hit the ground, the instinct to stay low pulling them down like the gravity of a black hole. Those who were unlucky to be targeted first had been reduced to bleeding lumps of meat on the green grass, staining it blue-purple with Asari blood.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! I must go there!' she thought. Maybe her presence will encourage the troops. "Everybody, keep moving!" she ordered through radio. "Armor, push up! Provide cover fire!" How much she wished she had a squad of trained commandos now with her. They could probably flush the Humans out of their hidey holes with their elite training and masterful use of biotic abilities.
The APCs inched forward, their armor shrugging off the hail of smaller caliber bullets. A .50 caliber would pierce the light armor of the APCs like knife through butter and injure or kill the crew, or damage components. But the Alliance force carried no such heavy machineguns with them for this operation. They weren't in for slugging, they were in for a rescue mission and immediate exfiltration.
Raditora sneaked through the grass and closer to the line of armor and infantry. The closer she got, the better she distinguished words from bullets hitting metal and guns firing.
"Get her back! Take her to the rear!"
"DAMN THEM TO THE DARKNESS!" a rather angry Asari trooper cursed. She fired her M-15I Vindicator rifle at the tree line, a variant of the Turian designed rifle adapted for five finger users according to Illium's Defense Force requirements. She ducked back into cover when two bullets ricocheted off the APC in front of her. The vehicles were advancing at a steady pace.
The second tank fired its cannon, an explosive shell finding its mark in the vegetation. If the sound was any hint, a tree or two fell. Raditora hoped the reinforcements in the shape of the 2nd and 3rd battalions will arrive in due time.
"Push forward! Cover fire! Use your grenades!" she ordered.
Captain Reiner retreated from his initial position as rather accurate gunfire was zeroing in on it. The enemy was coming closer to the forest. He had to keep them at a fair distance from the forest. It simply offered them better targets when the enemy was not in cover. And it wasn't the time yet to retreat. They will slowly pull back when the evacuations are underway.
The second enemy tank fired its main gun. It hit at the base of a tree ten meters behind him. The explosion threw splinters all around. His armor protected him from the splinters flying at high speed. But the groans that reached his ears made him aware to the fact that he had one wounded man.
"Keep the pressure on the enemy! Don't waste the ammo firing blind!" he shouted. "And somebody kill that tank!" Reiner went to assist his wounded soldier. Mass accelerated bullets were hitting tree trunks left and right. Still mostly inaccurate fire from enemy infantry. He stopped to examine the wound – a large piece of metal had lodged itself between two of the armor plates, most likely coming at an upwards angle to get itself in that spot.
"I need a medic right now!" he called on radio before preparing to administer first aid to his subordinate. 'I hope they don't push up the river,' he thought as he pondered the situation of his platoons right now.
"Feindlicher Panzer schreitet voran!" a loud shout was heard from the forest in a language Raditora's translator was unable to recognize. Whatever language of theirs they were using, it was lost on her ears. "Panzerjäger, beweg dich schneller!" a second Human voice was heard. They were now nearly 100 meters from the tree line. If half of the battalion that was with her now can push through the forest, they can flush the enemy out of cover and have the initiative. The advance was going well. With one tank and four support vehicles, she had little doubt the will fail.
Another battalion was on its way to their location now, they were ten or fifteen minutes behind as they had a slower start and took longer to navigate through the crowded spaceport. When they arrive, the Humans will be stomped.
Her gaze shifted to the right flank where the push was wavering. She turned her eyes just in time to spot how a squad was mowed down by a light machinegun. Four of her soldiers were preparing grenades to throw in the trees when white tracers that moved so fast you could miss them if you blinked. The first few tracers flew over their heads or hit the APC, sparks flying off at the contact and ricochet off. Then, the tracers began to fly through the squad. Lightning fast bolts of death pierced their bodies, some bullets stopping in their bodies while some exited their bodies. The squad of four fell dead in pools of blue blood in the grass.
"Suppress the machine gun to the right flank!" Raditora ordered.
More bullets poured out of that machinegun's barrel and a whole sector hit the deck. Two more light antitank missiles had been fired by the Humans. They didn't have the arch trajectory of the one that destroyed one of their tanks, they had flat trajectories parallel to the ground. Each found its mark on an APC. The two vehicles came to an abrupt halt after an explosion on each one's hull.
Raditora cursed those in charge of supplying the Illium Defense Force with materials. She cursed them and she cursed herself too for not taking the threat of the Humans' weapons seriously. While the Hegemony, Hierarchy, Union and the Republics were researching methods of how to fine tune their kinetic barriers for the infantry. The bullets fired by the Humans' firearms were traveling at lower velocities than standard kinetic barriers were designed for. And Illium made no move whatsoever in investing in kinetic barriers that could counter this threat. If those four Asari troopers had such kinetic barriers, they could have survived the machinegun's fire by taking cover as soon as their barriers were reacting to the bullets. Now they were just bodies on the ground.
Raditora reached to her radio. "How long until reinforcements are here?" she demanded from her command APC.
"ETA: seven minutes, Commander," she was told.
Another light antitank round was fired, this time against the tank. Unlike most tanks used by the mainstay militaries, Illium's tanks weren't based on hover technology – just old good, proven tracks. The missile was aimed at the tank's forward left drive wheel. The impact and the explosion blew the wheel off, the left track came off and the side armor was dented. Raditora's second tank was halted in its advance. Its machinegun and cannon fired in response, but it was already doomed.
Another missile reached for the sky as it cleared the canopy. The trajectory like an arch brought the missile down on the tank's turret. The tank's insides were cooked by huge temperatures and the pressure inside the tank was so high that the crew evacuation hatch was blown clean off its hinges. The metal hatch hit an Asari soldier that was using the tank as cover. The impact threw her to the ground.
Her soldiers were either injured or killed at a horrendous rate. And she had little doubt on the survival chances of the remaining two APCs. Something struck an APC's turret machineguns, a piece of metal flying off the turret. Another shot struck it, bullets penetrating the armor and hitting the machinery of the turret, taking it out of the fight. Probably a sniper with armor piercing rounds.
"Tell them to hurry up or I'll make them regret ever being born! I want them here right now!" she commanded.
Raditora unplugged a grenade from her own belt and prepared a biotic throw to make sure she gets in the middle of the Humans. As she stood up from her crouch position, she thought she saw a small light in her lower right corner of her field of sight. A loud thud behind her, dirt and grass was thrown by something impacting the soil. She barely managed to throw the grenade as she lost her footing and staggered sideways. A bad step and she tripped on a stone or a boulder. She fell sideways to the left in the grass, sudden pain radiating from her lower right torso.
Raditora jerked from the pain. Her hand reached to the point of concern and examined it by touching, her eyes closed and teeth gritting in pain. A finger slipped into a hole in her body armor, but it was deeper than it should have been. The finger explored further down the hole until warm flesh greeted her thermal receptors through the gloves. She looked at her right hand – it was covered in purple blood and she had a literal hole in her body. She leaned on her left hand and checked just where below the liver would be and found another hole. She realized she was shot and the bullet traversed her body clean.
Her only saving grace was the fact that the bullet was an armor piercing round that didn't do significant damage to flesh unless it first encountered significant resistance. These bullets are designed to penetrate the armor of a light vehicle, or hit a target hiding behind a wall. Had it been a hollow point bullet, the injury would have been so significant that she would be in danger of losing her life in the next minute if she wasn't killed outright. Only a clean, straight hole in her body was what she got instead. She began to hyperventilate as a rush of panic was taking a hold of her.
"Commander! Your signs show you're injured! What happened?" a subordinate part of her staff inquired.
[1] See the picture at the following link or just Google "Quarian marines" and it should be the first one you get: .
[2] The chant is from the song Grüne Teufel, the lyrics translating as:
How far the march is,
We will soon find the battle.
Determined to be ready to fight,
in the attack day and night.
The gun tight and daring
the hostile position stormed!
with "hurray" towards death,
The opponent surrenders and roars.
NOTE4: I hope it wasn't that much of a disappointment. I will see how I can work on the second part, or if I resume just to this and follow up with something like the interlude chapter "The Terran Blitz".
NOTE5: Next chapter: more internal strife in the Alliance high echelons, the politics are ticking again, Archangel is making moves against his enemies, and Harper shows us again how he does business. Looking forward to posting the next chapter. I already have 8500 words written, and I might have 5000 more in store. Best regards, Apollo.
A STORY BROUGHT TO YOU BY Apollonir